Maria reached her first final this year by defeating Shinobu Asagoe of Japan today in Tokyo. 6-1 7-6
Maria was sharp from the beginning and had little trouble breezing through the set using strong serves and crisp ground strokes.
In the second set, world number 32 Asagoe was a different player as she rediscovered her serve and fought tirelessly to put pressure on her Russian opponent with some long rallies.
But in the tiebreak her sixth double-fault and a lucky ace by the Russian -- her seventh of the match -- gave Sharapova the advantage and she won through 7-3 after an Asagoe backhand sailed long.
"The second set was very close with some really good rallies and it came right down to the end," Sharapova said. "She played a really great match and is a real fighter. The points were really good."
In the final Maria will play Lindsay Davenport of the united states.
Maria has played Davenport twice before, and leads the series 2-0. Good Luck Maria!
Maria likes fast surfaces so I'm expecting a tough match," Davenport said. "On this surface, you need to serve well and just try and hold on, but you have to go for your shots.
February 5th, 2005
Posted by: Marco
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